Marketing

📈 In 2024, Europe’s Digital Markets Act designated Booking.com as a “gatekeeper," allowing hotels to offer better deals on their websites. OTAs enhance visibility through the "billboard effect" and influence AI-driven searches. Google Hotels integrates directly into search results, boosting recognition. Accurate listings, appealing visuals, and strategic pricing encourage direct bookings and trust. OTAs are evolving from necessary evils to essential discovery channels, supporting both initial exposure and long-term guest loyalty.

🏨 Luxury resorts face rising acquisition costs and diminishing control over demand due to reliance on intermediaries like OTAs, Google Ads, and paid social, which intercept rather than create demand. This increases booking costs over time. Despite sophisticated marketing, the failure to control pre-marketing access results in compounded losses, mistaking channel performance for strategic control. Effective demand control involves reaching guests directly and shaping decisions before booking, reducing dependence on non-owned channels.

📊 Booking.com boasts the highest booking volume but suffers from a high cancellation ratio. It's ideal for base volume generation and new hotel visibility. Expedia excels in higher ADR with fewer cancellations, suitable for quality revenues and business segments. Agoda, strong in Asia, provides fast last-minute pickups but lower ADR, perfect for distressed inventory. Choose Booking.com for volume, Expedia for revenue quality, and Agoda for last-minute optimization. OTAs should complement your revenue strategy, not compete.

💰 Hotel merchandise is trending with collaborations like Staud and St. Regis, and Ritz-Carlton with Late Checkout. High-end items, such as $400 crewnecks and $250 bags, target a niche market. The focus is on marketing, not volume sales. Opportunities lie in affordable, quality items: $40–$60 hats and $25 totes, appealing to a broader audience. These everyday essentials have lasting impact, suggesting that while fashion collabs are short-term wins, evergreen collections sustain long-term brand value.

📖 Jan 23, 2026, Skift's Megatrends event debated AI's impact on hotel bookings. AI adoption hinges on consumer trust, economics, and execution, gradually transforming OTA commission models and boosting direct bookings. OTA commissions (15-20%) may face scrutiny as AI changes booking dynamics. Though AI reshapes demand, execution challenges persist, especially for independent hotels. Intermediaries like Tripadvisor decline, while technology investments will determine early winners. Change arrives in phases, not overnight.

🏨 In hospitality marketing, evergreen content is crucial for long-term success. It refers to content that remains relevant over time, unlike fleeting campaigns. Hotels can use evergreen content to build organic search visibility, support bookings, and enhance brand credibility. Effective formats include destination guides, planning resources, and property-based content. It aids in all stages of the booking funnel, from awareness to conversion, and can be reused across various platforms, reducing the need for constant new content creation.

🏨 Choice Hotels International, based in North Bethesda, Maryland, launched a global marketing campaign on January 20, 2026, featuring actor Keegan-Michael Key. The multi-channel campaign, developed with 72andSunny New York and dentsu X, includes 30- and 15-second commercials on TV and social media platforms. The campaign highlights Comfort Hotels, Cambria Hotels, and the Choice Privileges rewards program, aiming to demonstrate travel value and meaningful experiences.

🛫 Choice Hotels International, Inc. launches a global marketing campaign on January 20, 2026, emphasizing travel value. The campaign, featuring Keegan-Michael Key, is in its third year, developed with 72andSunny New York and dentsu X. Highlighting brands like Cambria and Comfort Hotels, it showcases offerings across 7,000 properties in 46 countries. The Choice Privileges® rewards program provides enhanced benefits. The campaign runs on TV, digital, and social media, aligning with events like college basketball.